Final Thoughts on the NCAA FB Season (The Alabama Dynasty and Beyond)

Alabama keeps on proving everybody wrong every year. A year I thought they wouldn't get close to the national championship and they're partying in Miami.

AJ McCarron proved he's a much better quarterback than I thought. Eddie Lacy and TJ Yeldon proved they were worthy followups to Mark Ingram and Trent Richardson. Amari Cooper might be the next great Alabama WR as the Miami-born freshman capped his fine year with 2 TD's Monday.

But what does it all really say? It just reaffirms that Nick Saban is as great a college coach as anybody right now or within the last 15 years. Pete Carroll? Urban Meyer? Jim Tressel? Combined, they have as many national titles as Saban. But it's not just about winning, although DragonflyJonez made this great point.

Only thing that stopped Saban from winning 4 straight was Cam having perhaps the greatest season ever.
— D'Brickashaw (@DragonflyJonez) January 8, 2013

Football Wrap Week 3A - Never Trust Clemson

Seems like every year Clemson tries to convince me that I’m wrong. I’m wrong for doubting any of their success. But no matter how hard they try, they won’t make these 3 words untrue.

Never. Trust. CLEMSON.

Clemson has followed this formula. Win great games. Get some national love. Get a prime time game and promptly find a way to crap the bed. Saturday was no different. Ranked No. 10, they faced No. 4 Florida State on ABC  and after taking a 31-28 lead in the third, they were gonna prove me wrong at my birthday bash.

Well an hour or two later, I checked my phone. Florida State won 49-37. Clemson gave up 21 straight points. 21!!! On national TV???? That sounds like some fraud business to me. And don’t tell me FSU is that good because clearly they are. This is about those Tigers acting like kitties once again.

Football Wrap Week 2A - Down Goes USC, Michigan State and Arkansas.

Usually I discuss USC and UCLA in a separate video so y’all can hear me discuss the local scene (which is still here) but I had to speak on something I noticed in the AP poll. USC’s steep decline from No. 2 to 13. 

*Also of note,  Stanford QB Josh Nunes and Matt Barkley came out of HS at the same time. I remember hearing a lot about Nunes in Upland despite Barkley getting all the hype. Almost funny how that worked out with them seeing each other*

Now as a UCLA fan, this is where I’d laugh and say they deserved it because they struggled most of the game. But a thought occurred to me. If these were two SEC teams playing a similar game and the higher seed lost on the road by only 7, would that team drop so steeply?

Football Wrap Week 0 (College FB returns on the Beat em Down Express)

It's baaaaaaaaaack! No, not college football season. The Football Wrap! Back to give you tidbits from the weekend in football. 

OSU head coach Mike Gundy: "Check's in the mail, Coach. Thanks for the scrimmage."

Week 1 of the College FB season is usually a Beat Em Down weekend so there’s almost nothing to get excited about. Top 25 teams and other folks battle cream puffs so it’s merely a good morale boost unless there’s an actual upset or marquee matchup.

The results are pretty ridiculous so if you’re looking for any analysis or insight, it’s usually with a grain of salt. I mean Oklahoma State blitzed Savannah State 84-0 so badly that proud booster T. Boone Pickens publicly said OSU needed to beef up their schedule.  Back in the day, I used to criticize some of these teams for playing weak when USC (in the Pete Carroll era) would always play somebody tough.

It’s also why I wouldn’t be opposed to starting college football polls after Week 2 or 3. 1) It’s hard to tell who’s the best when you play so many cream puffs, 2) It’d force more teams to play at least one tough non conference game. But then again, we don't want to shake the system up any more than it already is.

Football Wrap: The Tide Rolls in the Bayou

Three Words. Beat. EM. DOWN!!! Alabama didn’t just win the title, they took it. They may not have belonged on first glance but they took the title by force in the greatest defensive performance in the BCS era.

The stats don’t tell the whole story but they say a lot about Bama’s D. 4 sacks, 1 INT, held LSU behind midfield for all but one drive and eventually pushed them back to punt. They allowed 92 yards of total offense. 92 yards from the No. 1 team in the nation.

Jordan Jefferson looked dazed and confused and unable to be a quarterback. LSU’s rushing game that floored a few times got dominated off the block. And the funny thing is the same thing happened in the 1^st game. Alabama’s offense played better.

Trent Richardson by himself had 96 rushing yards and the only touchdown of the night.  DragonflyJonez said it best on Twitter, 0 losses, 0 points in the final. Alabama destroyed LSU on a historic level in a similar way to how I saw the Baltimore Ravens destroy the NY Giants in Super Bowl 35.

Nick Saban won his 3^rd title in 8 years as is without a doubt the best coach in college FB. T-Rich wins his 2^nd title. And big ups to AJ McCarron being the first sophomore to win a BCS title game and earning every bit of it with 234 yards and a surprisingly great game behind center.

Final irony. In a year where kickers appeared to cost their teams everything in the end, how fitting is it that Alabama’s kicker Jeremy SHelley did most of the key work tonight.  Congrats to the Tide in a year where Tuscaloosa was ravaged by tornados and tragedy.

NFL Tibits.

Let’s recap a wildcard weekend where two WR’s had 200 yards in their debuts, a highpowered offense showed no mercy and a team suffered the worst embarrassment you can without being “shutout”

Drew Brees is on some Kurt Warner steez. He’s transformed the Saints into the 99-02 Rams and every time something happens, you sit back and wonder how ridiculous they are to stop. Their latest destruction: An NFL record of 616 yards of total offense.

Between him and Darren Sproles’ 2 TD’s, this was a bad week for Chargers fans. Need I remind you that D. Sproles is postseason money. Go look what he did to the Colts in 2009.

Pierre Thomas is a difference maker. I counted at least 4 hard runs that bullied their way through the teeth of the Lions D for 8-10 yards that were difference makers.

Big ups to Houston winning their 1^st playoff game. Remember the expectations I had in 02 of them possibly going to the playoffs. Well they finally met them. Next is now.

Atlanta are some playoff frauds. Frauds, I tell you. It’s still early before assuming Matt Ryan has peaked. I think Atlanta has zero defense to account for their offense and that’ll be their downfall. But that O has major questions about being inconsistent.

Only scoring 2 points is like being shut out in my mind.

Remember Me? I'm Still a Big Deal.

Hakeem Nicks just reminded everyone he was Victor Cruz last year. A sleeper who emerged out of nowhere. 2 TD’s in the postseason shows why the Giants are deadly. Secondaries can’t stop Nicks and Cruz at the same time. And oh by the way, Mario Manningham is lurking.

The Giants are 2007 scary.

Finally, you know why I’m finally giving Tim Tebow his props? Because he had his best game as a pro and did it in the playoffs. He took advantage of what the D gave him and his receivers did the rest. He took John Elway’s advice and let it rip.

Denver’s defense harassed a less than 100% Steelers team and a hurt Big Ben, yet Roethlisberger still led a late comeback like he always does. Only problem was before we could figure out these new overtime rules, Tebow and Demaryius Thomas capped off their great day with a 1-play bomb to end the game.

Coldest stiff arm since Marshawn Lynch stuffed Tracy Porter towards that TD.

The irony is that Tebow played terrible in the 2^nd half. Big ups to Thomas having an insane day on that Pittsburgh secondary and he deserves just as much credit as Tebow.

I honestly thought Big Ben was going to find a way to win like he always does. But everybody’s luck runs out and when you’re hobbling on 1 leg without Rashard Mendenhall, there’s only so much you can do.

This is the first NFL game I can truly say Tebow stepped up and won a game with his arm. The defense made great plays too but I give #15 his due. Dang shame that Tom Brady will have to humble his fans next week.

Football Wrap Week 13: BCS Chatter, Heisman Pickin and that Torero Pride!

I shall begin this week’s blog by admitting I have no clue where I stand on the BCS Title Game issue. I’m okay with Alabama being in there yet I can argue Oklahoma State has a case. I present the Virgo Breakdown of both schools

Pros for OK State

- They won the Big 12 title.

- They only lost on the road was in double OT to Iowa State, who also threatened Kansas State in an upset.

- The Big 12 was perhaps the strongest conference all year and deserves an entry.

- They beat OK, Kansas State, Texas, Texas A&M, Baylor

Cons for OK State

-They did lose to unranked Iowa State

-Less we think that game was a fluke, A&M was up huge and Kansas State put the fear of God in them

Pros for Alabama

-They played LSU tight for 60 Minutes

-It’ll be must see TV esp. in the South

- Rematch games are not out of the ordinary (1993 and 1996 title games)

- I believe they are probably the 2^nd best team by default and from my eyelids.

Cons

-Did not win the SEC Title

- Already faced LSU and had their chance

- Played a weaker schedule than OK State

- No team has played for the BCS title without winning a conference title in 8 years (2003 – Oklahoma lost the Big 12 title game and still played and lost to LSU. 2001 – Nebraska didn’t make the conf title game and got stomped out by Miami.

See how tricky it is? I can make legit arguments for both and I have no clue which makes sense. I have sympathy for OSU because I believe the Big 12 >>>>> SEC this year. Yet Alabama was clearly right there with LSU.

My only counter is wondering about something like 2006 when Ohio State and Michigan were ranked 1-2 entering their game. Yes it was the last game of the season so all was at stake but both played so evenly that a rematch would’ve been appropriate. I wonder if they played earlier in the year would folks have been crazy for it. It could be SEC bias at play here but also since all the top teams lost, Bama also did move up by default. Also, Bama was #2 in the AP poll as opposed to Nebraska and Oklahoma making crazy jumps.

Either way, the field will determine where everybody should be. Ball never lies and ultimately, the best teams do it on the field, not in the polls. And now a Virgo Rant.

Yeah I see the BCS and I see BS!! Let’s celebrate the biggest racket in college football – All that money and the schools get nothing but prestige. The bowl committees get most of the bank and of course the players get nothing but trinkets and a final audition for the NFL scouts, fans and their legacies. The bowl games are a crockpot of money and greed and backslapping goodness that masquerades as tradition. 

So yes, we’ll watch and celebrate despite the fact half these games are only around because some company puts up the cash and we want to reward every team that finishes .500 or better (except my beloved UCLA Bruins who make a Bowl Game at a sterling 6-7). Expansion rears its ugly head and I’d be happier if we killed off some of these games. Or at least give the players some money. And let's not even discuss how we select certain teams while some teams get screwed *steps off soapbox*

- Boise State vs. Arizona State will be a good early game

- Baylor vs. Washington will be nice. RG3 vs. the future in Keith Price

- Florida and Ohio State seem to always meet up in either college football/bball. This one could be heated

- Georgia vs. Michigan State will be great

- South Carolina’s Jadeveon THE FREAK Clowdey and Melvin Ingram vs.Nebraska's Taylor Martinez? Yes!

- Somebody please tell me why the Compass/GoDaddy Bowl Games are late in January??? Put them ugly games in the back! See this is what I'm talking about right here. This RIGHT HERE is some.....(grabs the mic from this crazy fool and shoves him offstage before he pisses off the wrong fan)

Virgo’s Heisman Ballot

1. Robert Griffin The Great

2. Case Keenum

3. Honey Badger (need I remind you what this dude did in the last two games – best defensive playmaker since N. Suh)

4. Montee Ball (38 TD’s is 38 TD’s. In a power running conference, that’s even greater. The most underrated star of this college season.)

5. T-Rich from Bama

6. LaMichael James – I feel T-Rich and James are better runners who did better work than Ball. Better NFL prospects too I’ll add. LMJ suffered when he missed a game due to injury but he remains the best Pac-12 RB I’ve seen since Reggie Bush/Lendale White

7. Andrew Luck – before you ask where Matt Barkley is, I’ll remind you that Luck had a clutch drive to tie USC and he beat Barkley’s USC team in triple OT. Pac-12 Player of the Year trumps Barkley’s numbers. But being the No. 1 overall pick doesn’t mean you were the best QB this year.

NFL Tidbits

The Return of Josh Johnson!! The legend of the University of San Diego got his 1st start in 2 years and played pretty well (16-27, 229 yards, TD, INT, 45 rush yards). And yes, I was happy as ever blowing this up before and after church. Torero Pride baby!

Aaron Rodgers’ 1 minute drill was pure money. Great way to respond to Eli Manning’s drive and further proof that he and the Packers are on another level (Get well soon, Charles Woodson)

Give Tim Tebow his credit playing well and looking like a quarterback Sunday. The church can get a head nod from me as I keep driving past it. 

Somebody please me why 1) Jason Garrett iced his own kicker, 2) nobody on Dallas called timeout on the previous play instead of burning clock only to spike the ball. My Boys better not be starting our annual December choke job.

The Chargers took it back to 2009 dropping hell fire on the Jaguars. Philip Rivers looked sharp. Vince Jax and Malcom Floyd made big plays. Ryan Matthews ran the ball well. Slumps die in Florida I guess.

Quiet as kept, Chris Johnson is playing back to normal. It’s a surprise if only you have no idea how a body works. Took him a while to get going, longer due to his holdout and now that he has 130+ yards in 3 of his last 4 games, he’ll finish with 1,000 yards. A success when you consider things.

New England is lucky they didn’t give back a 28-point lead to the Dan Orlovsky-led Colts. Read that again, Dan “Run Out Of the End Zone” Orlovsky nearly engineered a 4^th Q comeback.  Baltimore runs the AFC, far as I’m concerned.

On that point, Rob Gronkowski is that dude. 13 TD’s for a season record by TE’s and he’s gonna shatter that. Unbelievable matchup problems. Speaking of beast mode, shout out to Marshawn Lynch (148 yards, 2 TDs) and Ray Rice (204 yards, 2 TDs) going off.

Anybody see the Buffalo Bills? They were high on the mountaintop a month ago but seem to have fallen back to irrelevancy. Maybe we can ask the Lions since they’re headed down that way it seems. 

Football Wrap Week 10: Return of the Wrap (and the Ducky Boys/Boise State Blues)

Took a week off from the Wrap due to the Penn State scandal and processing all the information. Everything else felt trivial and even though I had a wrap ready to go, I scrapped it. Starting fresh this week.

Raise your hands if you expected to see Oregon back in the BCS picture. Okay, maybe they weren’t totally dead but I wasn’t exactly ready to ride for them after LSU became the second SEC team to beat them in a calendar year.

But here we are, a month later and guess who’s back? The Ducky Boys after steamrolling Stanford on the road just like they did last year. Back up to No. 4 in the BCS and suddenly the Rose Bowl isn’t the only thing in their picture. I crowned them that nickname last year after they mauled Stanford so I'm bringing it back.

I’m surprised but I shouldn’t be. I should’ve remembered 2 years ago when Oregon lost to Boise State in their season opener and still wound up in the Rose Bowl. Their strength is getting better as the season goes on and wearing down teams with their speed as their offense clicks into gear. The Pac-10 hasn’t been able to stop them and it’s to their credit that they aren’t afraid to play anybody.

Oregon hosts USC, ranked No. 18 but somehow not in the BCS Top 25 and their Civil War game with Oregon State. Then there’s the Pac-12 title game vs. Arizona State or UCLA. Arizona State just lost to Washington State so there’s a good chance they could lose to Arizona or Cal. Meanwhile, my Bruins only have to win one to get into the Pac-12 game, which I still can’t fathom.

Anyways, Oregon could face SC, Oregon State or UCLA. Not a strong schedule. Let’s compare to Alabama and Oklahoma State.

OK State’s schedule = Iowa State, home vs. Oklahoma minus Ryan Broyles and a couple others. Blast you, Big 12 for no title game. Cowboys could win out without a problem.

Alabama’s schedule = Georgia Southern and the Iron Bowl with Auburn.  Alabama’s hungry to avenge last year’s Iron Bowl so I like their chances to win out a bit more than OK State.

Of course, the trap could be if Oklahoma wins and leapfrogs everybody. Not to mention if LSU somehow finds a way to lose to Arkansas, which I doubt. But I’m playing it safe and just assuming LSU is straight while 2-4 could be shaken up.

I’m not opposed to rematch games because if a team loses early, they should be able to get another crack at the title. And if the 2 best teams already faced each other, let’s do it again like Sidney Poitier and Bill Cosby. Yet my problem is if a team loses in the final month yet somehow leapfrogs teams who win out, even if the game was pretty even.

So Oregon has a tough road back still but it’s not entirely impossible. Now all they need to do is actually win a BCS Bowl Game since Ohio State and Auburn got em....

Quick NCAA Tidbits

1. Boise State – Barely an hour or so after Georgia helped their cause with a win, the Broncos saw déjà vu. Dan Goodale, meet Kyle Brotzman, he’ll be escorting you to your new home in Witness Protection. (To be fair, Boise State’s been shaky all year and I could see where Kellen Moore missed having some help at WR)

Speaking of Deja Vu, I had dang near the same pic of K. Moore on the blog last year after the loss.

2. Kansas State sure loves drama – last week vs. OSU and this week, 4 OT vs. A&M. At least they won this time.

3. Robert Griffin The Great strikes again – a 4^th quarter, 21-point comeback. Not bad for the Baylor legend.

Virgo’s Top 10: 1) LSU, 2) Oklahoma State, 3) Oregon 4) Alabama, 5) Arkansas, 6) Oklahoma, 7) Clemson 8) Stanford, 9) Virginia Tech, 10) Houston

NFL Top 5

1. It can be the Super Bowl, it can be regular season but to paraphrase Chris Berman, nobody….circles the Buffalo Bills like the Dallas Cowboys. How’d that Beat Em Down taste!!!! Only thing Buffalo did right was Nelson giving his touchdown ball to his girlfriend, a Cowboys cheerleader. Dallas stayed winning on and off the field.

Don Juan DeMarco almost looks a lil like Emmitt Smith right here. 

2. San Francisco had their national test and passed it. They stopped Eli Manning on a 4^th quarter drive. One more reason why I have faith in them and Jim Harbaugh is your Coach of the Year. (Speaking of surprises, anybody notice Buffalo and Detroit are coming back to Earth hard?)

3. So what’s more shocking: Kansas City couldn’t beat a Denver team that threw only 8 passes? Or Baltimore airing it out and only letting Ray Rice rush 5 times. Embarrassing and stupid and before you cue the Tim Tebow praise, read Kordell Stewart airing out some truth. 

4. Tom Brady can’t beat Mark Sanchez in the postseason but he can definitely embarrass him in the regular season. But is Rob Gronkowski about to be the NFL’s best tight end now? He’s definitely Top 3 at this point.

5. As somebody pointed out, we haven’t had too many great nationally televised games since that New Orleans-Green Bay opener. Mainly I think because there aren’t more than 6 great teams. Green Bay, San Francisco, New England, Houston, Chicago and New Orleans and maybe Pittsburgh at 7.

If you can tell me the 3^rd best team in the AFC with a straight face, go ahead. Houston’s a sleeper cause they have the best 1-2 RB combo in the league. But everyone else is potentially shaky. The NFC’s definitely top heavy but shaky as well.

I’m wondering if this has anything to do with the lockout and of course it does. There’s enough evidence to see that certain teams aren’t sharp and the best teams just happen to be able to mask it better than most. Let’s call it lockout parity – parity created by lack of practice and conditioning. We’ll see what happens after a month from now.

Finally some closing words on Penn State, after which I will say no more on here until recapping it in my Year in Review. I was burned out on the coverage because I’ve been discussing this for over a week while some have been on it since Tuesday. But as the details unfolded and things happened, I realized something.

The ultimate danger in this story is that when a brand or entity becomes important, protecting it at all costs trumps common sense. This applies to celebrities as well as sports and we had a failure here of administrative levels only comparable to the SMU pay-for-play scandal and still worse.

For once, a major sports scandal has nothing to do with players and I hope they and the student body persevere yet realize they can be great by rallying around each other and the victims. They can be great by stepping up where older adults did not and I in turn will not judge the whole body by a few idiots who I know litter every college campus.

Joe Paterno’s legacy takes a huge hit yet I won’t demonize him nor have I. He has to live with what he didn’t do enough of for 9 years. Same with Mike McQueary, who will probably be resigning at some point under pressure. Living with guilt sometimes is just as bad as anything criminal, ask Arthur Dimmesdale from my favorite novel.

I’ve been extra sensitive being around my kids lately at Sylvan and church. I look out for them even more now because should something happen to them, I’d risk my career to save them or never forgive myself.

One can hope that the victims of this tragedy will find some closure in Jerry Sandusky’s eventual conviction. One can hope that like Barack Obama said, we all do some soul searching, As more information comes out, I also hope we continue to see good, thorough reporting to make sure something well fleshed out for the record.

Football Wrap Week 7 - Part 1 (MSU/Wisconsin: Virgo's Top 10)

Michigan State!!!!! 2^nd year in a row they’ve given us a Play of the Year candidate and what a play it was. Hail Mary to beat No. 6 Wisconsin after trailing 14-0 in the first game. I gave up on them and then all a sudden, they just dominated the Badgers over the next two quarters.

I swore Michigan State had that game won after a late interception. But Russell Wilson wouldn’t let his team lose. Big ups to him and his late game heroics to lead Wisconsin to two late TD’s but bigger ups to Kirk Cousins for that last drive and Drew Nichol for that Hail Mary grab.

Best Game of the Year Hands. Down!!!!

1. Notre Dame on the USC 1-yard line. Seems like they were gonna tie the game. But Irish eyes weren’t smiling on Dayne Crist, who fumbled the snap and then had to watch USC return it 80 yards.

After that happened, why on Earth did Notre Dame try to get cute on a backward lateral? That failed and led to another USC score. And you wonder why the Irish have been irrelevant since Brady Quinn was behind center in my college days.

2. Nightmare in Norman! Oklahoma’s mood went from  blowout to comeback to heartbreak hotel . I can’t believe they played such a terrible first half. I can’t believe their kicker missed 2 easy gimmies that would’ve won the game. And all in front of their home fans to a team named a 20-point underdog.

Shout out to Oklahoma’s secondary letting their team down. Now Sooner fans know what USC fans felt like. And did I really say the Big 12 was the best conference in America this year? Yeah, about that.

3. Hate to say it but if Boise State gets screwed out of a major bowl game, it’ll be because they aren’t as great as they were the last two years. Struggling at home against a decent Air Force squad is something they wouldn’t have done before.

4. Ho-hum. Stanford and Oregon dominate again.  It’s their world, the rest of the Pac-12 is just living in it. All that matters is their showdown on Nov. 12.

5. Alabama had me scared for a half, tied with Tennessee at halftime. But they remembered they were Alabama and Tennessee was singing the Rocky Top Blues. Nov. 5 is set. Bama vs. LSU (who made me a prophet smoking Auburn like that stuff Spencer Wade and Honey Badger were on).

Virgo’s Top 10: LSU, Alabama, Oklahoma State, Boise State, Stanford, Clemson, Arkansas, Oregon, Kansas State, Michigan State. 

I drop Oklahoma because they were upset by a unranked team at home. Boise State struggled at home but they still won. Stanford is still the best team nobody is talking about and made mincemeat of a good Washington squad.  Clemson is still overrated!! 

There I said it. It's getting harder and harder to discredit them, esp. with Tajh Boyd and Sammy Watkins. But they'll get theirs.


Top 5 for This Weekend (AKA Killing Time til Next Weekend's SEC Showdown)

1. USC-Stanford: Two years since the infamous beatdown at the Coliseum, both teams meet again. Now we can see why it's foolish to put Matt Barkley in the same league as Andrew Luck.

2. Baylor-Oklahoma State: We kinda forgot about Robert Griffin a lil bit after Baylor lost a few games. Time for him to remind folks against the No. 3 Cowboys as they remind us they could be in the BCS Title Game

3. Oklahoma-Kansas State: OK wants revenge after last week, Kansas State needs respect for the 1st time since the Michael Bishop days. This should be great.

4. Michigan State-Nebraska: Sparty's feeling themselves a bit so let's see how they respond chasing around Taylor Martinez. It's no longer a stretch to say Martinez is not only the most surprising All-State player from Cali doing well in college, he's on his way to being Eric Crouch Part. 2

5. Arizona-Washington: Might be a great underrated Pac-10 game. Nic Foles vs. the Pac-10's best new QB Keith Price. Over/under 60 points combined

Football Wrap Week 5: Pack Attack, Black Mamba Strikes and Big Ups to....Kevin Prince???

When’s the last time you’ve seen a defending Super Bowl champion get this little attention? It seems like with all the trendy storylines this year, the Packers have been lost in the shuffle. And that’s just fine. Let them be the first defending champ since 2007 undefeated this late in the season.

We got excited when Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees had that epic showdown to open the NFL season then I think it got forgotten among Sunday’s first day goodness.  The Packers survived Killa Cam Newton’s 2^nd game but knocked out the Bears with little problem.

Then reconsider what they did in their last two games. Aaron Rodgers had 400 yards, 4 TDs and rushed for 2 TDs vs. Denver. Again, one of those unreal performances that didn’t get a lot of run for whatever reason.  Now on Sunday, they scored 25 straight on the road to beat the Falcons while making Matt Ryan look average with 2 INT’s. Oh yeah, Rodgers threw to at least 12 different guys as if he was a socialist bent on sharing the wealth.

Quiet as kept, the Packers are the best team in football right now.  Defensively, they’ve picked it up by stomping a weak Denver squad and shutting down one of the most potent offenses in football at home. Oh yeah, Rodgers is arguably the No. 2 QB in football and if Tom Brady wasn’t putting up loco numbers, he’d be No. 1.

Maybe we’re sleeping on them cause they aren’t steamrolling teams. They aren’t a dominant team by the eyeball test at first but watch a quarter or two and you see that it’s looney how good they are. Every other team that’s one loss or fewer.

Buffalo? New England? = Great offense, shaky defense

Detroit? = Young, hungry and don’t know how to quit. They are scary as well.

San Francisco? =  They’re a Tony Romo comeback from being undefeated.  An easy schedule has favored them.

San Diego? = My No. 2 team has made plays they had to but they’re one brain fart away from being 2-3.

New Orleans? = Quietly they haven’t lost since Green Bay. Another sleeper despite inconsistent D

Baltimore? Washington? = Did we forget who their QBs are? Hahahahahaha.

I wouldn’t be surprised if Green Bay was still undefeated come Halloween with Tampa Bay and Minnesota up next. Maybe then, we’ll start hearing about them getting more respect.

49ers put up 48 on Tampa. Whoa! I haven’t seen an offensive outing like that from them since Jeff Garcia and Terrell Owens were lighting it up during high school.  All that slowdown Stanford offense made me forget how Jim Harbaugh used to light it up at my alma mater.

Rest in Peace Al Davis. Like most people, I think he overstayed his hold the past 6-7 years. But his legacy is set in stone for his vision and foresight. I think it’s a shame the last few years ruined that. He was a leader in making the NFL more diverse on and off the field and a rebel.  No disrespect to Houston, but they weren’t going to win against a ghost and an inspired team.

Seattle’s Doug Baldwin: Peeped him out well for my fantasy team. Good game young man. Rep that Pac-12 proud.

Lord Tebow tried his best but a lightning bolt reminded Denver fans that idol worshippers will ultimately be disappointed. Heathenry won't be tolerated on the Lord's Day. Quiet as kept, my Chargers are 4-1 instead of under .500 this early for the 1^st time in ages. We win ugly but we’re winning.

And for the record, Timmy did a good job in relief. But don’t get crazy, he nearly carved the Chargers secondary last year for a comeback. Show me he can do this for 60 minutes and make the basic throws. He has the gifts but I don’t think he’s a NFL starter yet.

(Edit - Announced Tuesday that Tebow will start. Lord Tebow will have his fans in a frenzy as heathens try in vain to make him more than he is. In reality, what better choice do they....oh, hi there Brady Quinn. Remember when you were a big deal 5 years ago?)

Who’s got a bigger case of Bird Flu? Atlanta or Philadelphia. The media might be making glue of a dead horse with the Dream Team BS but it’s obvious Philly is trying too hard. How else do you explain Mike Vick’s 4 INTs and guys fumbling passes.  Same time, Atlanta looks like a frontrunning team with no D to sustain for the long run. Matty Ice is clutch but his defense isn’t.

NCAA Tidbits

LaMichael James had his usual beastly day for Oregon of 200+ yards and thankfully he didn’t break something worse in his arm on his fall. But the big story for me was the emergence of De’Anthony Thomas in his 2^nd Pac-10 game.

3 TD’s for the Black Mamba (for those who don’t know – he had that name right before Kobe got it) and he’s officially made his claim as the 4^th weapon in the Oregon backfield. Just like Robert Woods, I’ve covered Thomas closely in his high school years and I’m proud of him proving that switching from USC to Oregon was the best decision he made.

He’s playing right away, he’s learning from his mistakes and he’s making a statement for conference Freshman of the Year. It’s reminding me of when I watched his first year of HS football and he found ways to dominate right away.

LSU/Bama are neck and neck to me. Now that both teams destroyed Florida, it’s clear that they are the two best teams in the country.  November 5, that showdown will determine who’s No. 1 I give LSU the edge now for beating a very good Oregon team.

Remember his name. Tyrann Mathieu. The Honey Badger. Maybe the best DB in the country. That SEC swagger is all over this shot staring Chris Rainey down.

Speaking of LSU, that punter deserved a TD. That no taunting rule where touchdowns are taken away? It’s a silly, overreactive rule. If taunting is that much of a problem, you penalize on the kickoff and that’s it. Taking away touchdowns is extreme and it makes a mockery of the game by being policemen of showmanship. I understand when it’s excessive but since refs are poor judges of weighing intent, let’s take it out of their hands.

Shoelace! 300 yards passing, 100 yards rushing. Best performance of the weekend. Maybe he is finally turning into the next Pat White.  It’s a shame Michigan and Wisconsin don’t play this year unless they meet in the conference title game because he and Russell Wilson are heads and shoulders above everyone in the conference.

Big ups to Taylor Martinez and Nebraska for that 21-point comeback. Ohio State’s doomed for a rough year. Karma for that backside.

I think Oklahoma is still out somewhere scoring on Texas. I got out of work looking bug-eyed that they stomped a mudhole in Texas. It doesn’t say Texas sucks, it just says how good Oklahoma is this year.

The words Kevin Prince and 2^nd half comeback shouldn’t belong in the second sentence. But they do. So I’ll give the Hurt Prince his props and with Richard Brehaut out with a broken leg, we’re gonna have to get used to him at UCLA. 

Gumbo on the Road - The Finale (A-Town STOMP!)

We finally made it to Atlanta. Thanks to our great time yesterday, we were able to make it through the South in one night. Making our way through towns like Tyler, TX, Chunky, MS and Leeds, AL in between major cities like Dallas, Shreveport, Pearl, Vicksburg, Jackson and Tuscaloosa.

I don't have a lot of pics since I missed most of the scenic sights driving so I'll just share what I have with some thoughts afterwards.

The road scenery in Canton, TX. For the most part, the roads were much greener today than driving through the deserts, especially driving through the forests of Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia.

You know the dreaded feeling of compromising your beliefs to get by?  Today did that with eating McDonald's . My pride got clogged like my arteries but it was better than starving. 

The Shreveport Water Tower. Closest border crossing picture I got all trip since I was driving for most of them.

The Independence Bowl in Shreveport. 

Stepping outside in Brandon, Mississippi, we were greeted by a nice dose of sauna-like humidity. Believe it or not, it was actually a relief from the dry heat we felt in Texas. Nothing compares to the best sight of perhaps the whole trip.

Crossing the Louisiana-Mississippi border means getting to see the Mississippi River. We saw the Rio Grande Tuesday but this is a whole, different monster. It was wide and beautiful. Just crossing it made me feel  privileged to have seen it and imagine all the stories it could tell. Then crossing into Dixieland, we paused briefly for some quiet reflection. Mississippi's got a lot of dark history with my ancestors as does Alabama.

There was plenty of darkness going from Jackson to Tuscaloosa. Almost like you could feel the ghosts of the past mixed with a willingness to not change into the future. I felt that in Vicksburg knowing that's the city where the tide of the Civil War turned along with Gettysburg.

But same time, I was happy to find the sports connections. I passed an exit for Philadelphia, the town where 3 civil rights activists were murdered and the home of the legendary Marcus Dupree. I saw Tuscaloosa where Roll Tide is the official greeting and got gas in Leeds, birthplace of Charles Barkley. Tyler gave us the great Earl Campbell.

As I drove the last leg into Georgia listening to BIG K.R.I.T, Elzhi and Camp Lo's latest mixtapes, I realized exactly what my uncle and I have done. We finished my 1st cross country trip and I got to soak in some great wisdom/advice from him along the way. I'll save more of that from my full trip recap but as I try to sleep with these thunderstorms in the distance, I'm doing it with a smile. Praise God for this great experience and I know I'll have time to reflect on it for weeks to come.

Football Wrap Week 11: Bengals' Blues, Josh Freeman and the Iron Bowl

No lead story this week. Just quick hits since I was distracted by my choir's concert on Sunday. Let's start with the NFL and the new laughingstock of the league

- You're up 35-14 at halftime. At home. You're supposed to win. Carson Palmer and the Cincinnati D are the GOAT's of the year for not only losing that lead but giving up 35 UNANSWERED POINTS to Buffalo. Oh yeah, Terrell Owens isn't to blame for that.

He's having a great season and he's been giving his all in every game. I blame Carson looking like an average QB and their defense being terrible before I blame TO or OchoCinco.

- Peyton Manning can only do so much with a patchwork group of RB's and WR's - nevertheless, Brady won that game. I almost feel bad for PM but I'm impressed with how he manages to stay close in every game. Do y'all realize how many careers he's helped? Reggie Wayne, Edgerrin James, Marvin Harrison, Joseph Addai, Dallas Clark, Brandon Stokley...

- I haven't talked much about Josh Freeman or Tampa Bay's 7-3 record. If there's a Pro Bowl caliber more under the radar than him, I want their name pronto. I may be biased because he's starting above my fellow USD alum Josh Johnson but game recognizes game and Freeman's showing leadership/decision-making and a knack for winning.

- Vince Young needs counseling. He needs somebody who'll keep him in check. Physically he's a great QB but he's reminding me of where Michael Vick used to be. A great arm, great feet, but mentally he's soft. I root for him to get it together because he's still one of the best QB/athletes I've ever seen.

Long story short, Titans owner Bud Adams needs to release him and let him get a fresh start. It's not your fault, it's best for both of y'all in the long run.

- Dallas won two games in a row? STOP THE PRESSES. My 'Boys finally got some pride in them! And San Diego won too? Fire up some bottle rockets and let's celebrate this glorious moment of both my teams winning.

NCAA Preview

The Iron Bowl on Friday is the biggest college football game of the season. It's bigger than just Alabama-Auburn and their great rivalry because there's more at stake. If Alabama wins this, all heck will break loose in the BCS.

If Bama wins, TCU or Boise State would rejoice because they're going into the title game. Auburn still has to win this game and beat South Carolina again on a neutral site for the SEC title. Oregon's gotta be rooting for Auburn because they don't want to see Boise State again after last year.

Speaking of the Ducky Boys, they got Arizona Friday night. Oregon hasn't been slowed down and I don't think Arizona's got the horses to do it. But will it be a great game? You bet. The Ducky Boys have been tested by Cal and Arizona knows they have a better QB who can test that defense.

But this game is one more test before the ultimate test. The Civil War with Oregon State next week - that weekend deserves its own crazy blog but we can't go there yet til this one is done.

Saturday's crazy action keeps coming with Ohio State-Michigan. Michigan State needs to root for Michigan to win because should there be a 3-way tie for the Big 10, they'd be screwed because the tie is broken by BS (i mean BCS) standings.

The Spartans beat Wisconsin and by some bad scheduling, don't get to play Ohio State. They need to hope that Terrelle Pryor doesn't decide to end his rivalry with Michigan with a bang.

(Even madder than Sparty if Ohio State wins? Iowa, who not only beat Michigan State but lost to Ohio State and Wisconsin by only 4 points. These. Are. The Breaks.)

My predictions? Auburn wins the Iron Bowl by 9 or less. Ohio State wins by 14 and Shoelace Robinson has to miss part of the 2nd half again. Oregon beats Arizona by 15.

Oh yeah, went 3-1 in fantasy this week. Still alive in the playoffs for 3 of my teams with winning records. But it's time to wonder how I'm gonna survive without Hakeem Nicks for 3 weeks.